Getting Out the Facts About Chemical Abortion

March 22, 2024 1 min read Download Report

Elizabeth Fender

Director, Marketing

Elizabeth Fender serves as Director of Marketing at The Heritage Foundation.

Summary

Americans are split on whether chemical abortions are mostly safe (44 percent) or not safe (33 percent), with a large proportion being unsure (24 percent). One in five respondents to a survey conducted by The Heritage Foundation were consistently unsure about many questions about chemical abortion, indicating a strong opportunity for education on the issue—enough to overcome pro-choice leads if the pro-life side is clear about the facts and risks.

Key Takeaways

There are significant opportunities to inform Americans about the facts of chemical abortion.

Americans are split on whether chemical abortions are mostly safe (44 percent) or not safe (33 percent).

Between one in five and one in four Americans are consistently unsure when asked questions about chemical abortions, even after additional information is provided.

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Summary

In February 2024, The Heritage Foundation conducted a survey on what Americans know about chemical abortion.

Americans are split on whether chemical abortions are mostly safe (44 percent) or not safe (33 percent), with a large proportion being unsure (24 percent). One in five survey respondents were consistently unsure on many questions. If we provide properly targeted education and messaging, this “unsure” cohort should be open to the pro-life case.

API Chemical Abortions Chart 1

A similar proportion of Americans that recognized chemical abortions as unsafe (33 percent) correctly recognized various risks of the abortion pills (between 24 percent and 33 percent). The most commonly recognized risks were:

More health implications than clinic-based abortions (33 percent);
Hemorrhaging (32 percent); and
Infection (31 percent).

“Chemical abortion” was the most negatively viewed abortion term (38 percent negative), although nearly as many viewed it as positive (23 percent) or neutral (25 percent). Given the lack of public education on this issue, some audiences may misunderstand the term, separating it from the conversation around the “abortion pill” (another term for chemical abortion), which they may view as less invasive or dangerous (37 percent positive).

Strongest Message

Survey participants were asked whether they agree or disagree with the following statement:

As long as abortion is legal in America, we should make it less dangerous for women and girls—and we know that chemical abortions are far more dangerous than surgical abortions. According to the FDA’s [Food and Drug Administration’s] own data, 48% of women experience fever, chills, and vomiting, up to 15% experience hemorrhagic bleeding, and approximately 1 out of every 22 women taking chemical abortion drugs end up in the emergency room.

API Chemical Abortions Chart 2

Given the information about the risks of chemical abortions, more Americans are in favor of the FDA revoking authorization altogether (46 percent) than in favor of continuing approval (32 percent), but a large proportion remains unsure (21 percent).

API Chemical Abortions Chart 3

SOURCE: Online survey using a nationally representative sample of 1,022 U.S. likely voters conducted February 27–28, 2024, with a margin of error of +/–3.7 percentage points.